Home Repair Project #721

God didn’t intend for me to be a plumber. I’m fairly certain of this. But: there’s the internet and “How-To” videos and step-by-step directions (with pictures!) and “Do it yourself” and “save money” and my favorite – “it’s easy!” So I decided to do it myself. After all, it’s just a little leaky bathroom faucet. How hard could it be?

Although I first noticed the leak in April, I knew enough about my abilities to wait to tackle it during the summer, when I had plenty of time. But when summer arrived I kept putting it off. Could I really do it? It’s just a tiny leak; it only happens when I turn the hot water on. Maybe I should just leave it alone. 

But every time I saw that dribble of water appear, spreading around the hot water faucet, it annoyed me. I have to fix that, I thought. I'm an adult. I can do it. And so, last Saturday, it was finally time. (In retrospect, doing this project on a Saturday was probably not the best idea.) I did my homework: watched two video tutorials and found a website with step-by-step directions and photographs that I kept displayed on my laptop, and then I gathered up a screwdriver, wrench, flashlight, and several towels (just in case). Although the guy on the website said it should only take 15 minutes, I gave myself an hour. Starting at 9:45 on Saturday morning, I’d be finished before lunch and have the afternoon free for summer fun. Ready – set – Go!

First step: turn off the water supply. Next, cover the bottom of the sink with a rag so no parts slip down the drain. Then, find an Allen wrench to take the faucet off. (I had to call my dad to see if I had any Allen wrenches. Yes, I had a whole set on a nifty little key-ring – still in the unopened package!) Found one that worked and took off the hot water faucet decorative handle. Unscrew the silver thing Bonnie nut (see how much I’m learning?). So far, so good. This is kind of fun!

Next step: remove the faucet thingie where the water comes out faucet stem. Uh oh – mine doesn’t look like the one in the picture. How do I get it out? Google search: Delta bathroom faucet. Found a picture: cool – you can gently lift it out by the edge with a flat screwdriver. It comes right up … along with a spray of water!  (Oh yeah – I skipped part 2 of turning off the water supply. You also need to let the water already in the pipe drain out of the faucet.) Oh well – a quick little spray of water isn’t so bad.

Moving along: take out the little rubber washer seat and spring and replace. O.K. – I took them along and made a quick stop to the hardware store to find the correct replacement parts. Thankfully they had them in stock. Only $8.50 – look at all the money I saved by doing it myself! Got them in the faucet and decided to do the cold water faucet as well, since that washer was probably close to wearing out. Then it was time to put the stem back on. Make sure you replace stem in the same position. Let’s just say that it’s not as easy as it sounds with a little removable piece that goes either in the front or the back…glad I had thought to take a picture as I was removing it. Looking good – now to replace the handles and turn the water back on.

It still leaks. Not quite so fun anymore. The website says if the faucet still leaks the stem might need to be replaced as well. It’s now 11:45. Oh well, off to the store again. Except this time it takes three stores (and waiting for a train) to find the correct stem in stock (guess what: this package includes the parts I’ve already bought!). Another $20 – that’s O.K. I’m still saving money by doing it myself and now I have extra seats and springs in case I ever need to do this again.

1:15 p.m. Take the faucet apart again, remove the Bonnie nut again, lift the stem out (again) and replace it, making sure the spring and seat are still in the correct spot at the bottom. Put everything back together and turn the water back on. Cross your fingers.

Good news: it’s not leaking. 

Bad news: the water continuously pours out of the faucet, whether it’s on or off. Turning the handles does nothing.

I have no idea what I did wrong – the website says nothing about this possibility. I do a Google search: water pouring out of faucet whether it's on or off. No help. At this point it’s almost 2:00 and I’m done. I have no idea what to do to fix this. I’m sick of taking this faucet apart and putting it back together over and over. I realize: I need a professional plumber. I can’t do this. Very frustrating.

I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday with the water turned off. Since I don’t didn’t have a shutoff valve in the bathroom, the water supply for the whole house was off. I’d turn it on for 5 minutes occasionally, but for the most part I had no water all weekend. And every time I turned it on I’d hear the water pouring from the bathroom faucet.

Monday morning: I turned the water on for a few minutes. I didn’t hear anything. I went into the bathroom. No water was coming out of the faucet. I turned the faucet on. The water came on. I turned it off – the water stopped. It worked. How – and why? I have no idea. I’m choosing to believe God performed a little miracle for me! 

I still called the plumber to come and check it out, just to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong. There were a couple other issues as well (hot water heater and low water pressure), but he said everything looked good.  And, while he was there, he installed a shutoff valve under the sink for the next time I try to fix something.

So, I didn’t save any money by doing it myself, but I learned how to take apart my faucet and what a Bonnie nut is and that I have a whole set of Allen wrenches and how much I appreciate having accessible water.  All in all, a very interesting weekend. 

I think I'll wait awhile before attempting my next Home Repair Project.